Middle English Romances: Authoritative Texts Sources and Backgrounds Criticism

by Stephen H.A. Shepherd (Editor)

Genres: Medieval, Poetry, Classics, Fiction, Arthurian, Literature, Literary Criticism

514 pages, Paperback

Published December 17, 1994

Reviews

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection is very handy for a class on Middle English romances, as you might guess. It contains a few of the ballads -- including one of my favourites -- with good glosses and notes, and like all Norton editions, it contains some essays on the topic as well. Very useful, worth the purchase if this is something you're interested in.

(If you just want to look at a couple of ballads, though, go here instead. They do glosses, and there's tons of texts available. I recommend The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle.)

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the seminal texts for studying Medieval Romances in Middle English. The texts include Havelock, Ywain and Gwain, Sir Orfeo, Sir Launfal (and Sir Landevale), The Awntyrs off Arthure, The Weddyng of Syr Gawen, and the Sege off Melayne. This anthology is for a beginner-- either undergrad or early postgrad, as every line is glossed with word definitions, many of which are simply unnecessary for anyone with a grasp of ME. However, the footnotes are excellent, demonstrating conceptual and linguistic similiarities between other parts of the text itself, and also to other romances within the volume. The second portion (or first appendix) provides a list of all the sources that these ME romances drew from, which immediately bring another layering to the romances. The third section (or second appendix) is a set of introductory essays by scholars, highlighting the key aspects of romances for someone with little previous encounter with them. This text includes three romances that are not found in either the Sands or Mills editions, so it both compliments and overlaps. It's a good, weighty text, accessible, but more designed for the undergraduate. I realize that most of these texts are available via TEAMS, but I much prefer this compact edition, to the more bulky (or perhaps simply wide) TEAMS texts.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great selection of texts, well edited, with excellent supplementary materials. Can't believe this hasn't been updated since 1995! Come on, Norton.

[Lydia Hughes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for my Medieval English Literature class.Not a fan of this type of work, however the introductory notes and ‘potted history’- style explanations were immensely helpful in my study. Not a huge fan of the romances themselves, however this edition’s additional critical essays from experts in the field made the texts more engaging, as well as digestible for the average reader.

[Sarah Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative, footnotes are fantastic for understanding and the stories themselves are full of adventure. Slightly less as the critical essays at end weren't always linked to the tales printed.

[Stephanie]

Only read Havelok the Dane!

[Helena]

1. igjen så las eg berre to av tekstane, i tillegg til intro og uttalereglar, men eg loggar den for det om. det tok òg veldig lang tid å lese dei 60-70 sidene om orfeo og launfal, for alt står jo fillen på mellomengelsk
2. ikkje tale om eg las alt, men eg føler eg har forklart måten eg logger ting på no, så det er den siste gongen. det gav litt meir meining denne gongen (spes når eg las Sir Launfal opp mot Lanval til Marie de France)

[Jeremy Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wedding of Syr Gawen and Dame Ragnell!